NEW DELHI (Metro Rail News): Indian Railways is developing 18 projects spanning 2,455 km to improve rail links for freight movement to Haldia Port in West Bengal. The aim is to boost cargo handling and logistics efficiency at one of India’s key eastern ports.
Union Railway Minister Ashwini Vaishnaw shared the details in a written reply to a Rajya Sabha question by MP Biswajit Sinha.
Among these, eight projects worth ₹25,106 crore have been sanctioned, Detailed Project Reports (DPRs) has been completed for another eight projects and two projects are currently under survey for DPR preparation.
The minister noted that after DPR preparation, project sanction needs consultations with state governments and approvals from bodies such as NITI Aayog and the Ministry of Finance. Because the process is continuous, exact timelines cannot be fixed.
The weekly brief metro & rail professionals read.
Total projects for improving the connectivity to Haldia Port
- Sanctioned Projects
| Project | Length | Sanctioned amount |
| Sonnagar-Andal 3rd & 4th Line | 375km | 13,606cr |
| Bhagalpur-Dumka-Rampurhat Doubling | 177km | 3,169cr |
| Santragachi-Kharagpur 4th Line | 111km | 2,905cr |
| Aluabari Road-New Jalpaiguri 3rd & 4th Line | 57km | 1,786cr |
| Sainthia-Pakur 4th Line | 81km | 1,569cr |
| Murarai-Barharwa 3rd Line | 49km | 978cr |
| Chandanpur-Shaktigarh 4th Line | 43km | 750cr |
| Pakur-Gumani 4th Line | 18km | 343cr |
| Total- ₹25,106 crore | ||
Sonnagar-Andal 3rd & 4th line Land acquisition is mostly completed except forest diversion of 28 hectares. Works have been taken up for forest diversion, earthwork, bridges, ROBs, RUBs and station buildings.
- DPR Prepared
| DPR prepared | Length |
| New Jalpaiguri-Kamakhya 3rd & 4th Line | 445km |
| Kharagpur-Jharsuguda (Bagdehi) 4th Line | 367km |
| Kharagpur-Bhadrak (Ranitlal) 4th Line | 173km |
| Kumedpur-Aluabari 3rd & 4th Line | 129km |
| Barharwa-Bhagalpur 3rd & 4th Line | 128km |
| Malda Town-Kumedpur 3rd & 4th Line | 62km |
| Gumani-Malda 3rd & 4th Line | 59km |
| Andal-Sainthia 3rd & 4th Line | 73km |
- Survey ongoing
| Survey ongoing Project | Length |
| Khanna-Sainthia 3rd Line (Final Location Survey sanctioned) | 84km |
| Panskura-Tamluk 3rd & 4th Line (Field Survey taken up) | 24km |
In addition to the Haldia Port connectivity works, 1,187 km of other railway projects are currently under execution across West Bengal. The total budget allocation for infrastructure projects and safety works in West Bengal 2026-2027 is ₹14,205 Cr. more than three times compared to 2009-2014, which was ₹4,380 crore per year.
As on April 2026, 63 projects including 14 New Lines, 04 Gauge Conversions and 45 Doubling projects, covering a total length of 5,148 Km, costing ₹83,433 crore, falling fully/partly in West Bengal are sanctioned.
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